Key: (B) = book | (F) = film | (T) = television series | (P) = podcast series | (TH) = theater performance | (M) = musical performance | [R] = reread/rewatch/relisten | (Tk) = talk
This is a non-exhaustive list of things I’ve read, watched, seen or otherwise enjoyed.
Here are the lists for 2019; 2020; 2021; 2022; 2023; 2024.
I know it's a bit weird, ascending order for months and descending order for dates, but nobody has ever complained, probably because nobody has ever visited these pages.
- January
- 24
- Started reading Forbidden: A 3000 Year History of Jews and the Pig by Jordan Rosenblum B Very interesting from the outset.
- 21
- Started watching Night Agent s02 on Netflix T Here we go again.
- 20
- Started watching Severance s02 on AppleTV T What the Actual Fuck?
- 18
- Started reading Real Food, Real Facts: Processed Food and the Politics of Knowledge by Charlotte Biltekoff B Lots of confirmation bias going in.
- Finished reading Dead Lions by Mick Herron B Better than the TV series? Possibly only because I’ve seen it.
- 14
- Started watching Bosch: Legacy on Prime T Satisfyingly unchanged.
- 13
- Watched The Thomas Crown Affair on Prime F the original; ineffably cool.
- 12
- Started reading Dead Lions by Mick Herron B Strong start, again.
- 11
- Finished watching 100 Years of Solitude on Netflix T Haven’t read the book, so nothing to compare it to, and still I thought it pretty marvellous.
- 9
- Saw The Nickel Boys at the Barbican cinema F Very innovative cinematography and soundtrack, but in the end hard to engage with. Powerful stuff.
- February
- 23
- Started watching Reacher s03 on Prime T Reassuringly familiar, down to the potential romance.
- 20
- Watched Ball of Fire on Kanopy F Utterly glorious, and laugh out loud.
- 7
- Watched American Dharma on Kanopy F Errol Morris gives Steve Bannon a platform and does his best to get answers, but there’s no there there. Beautiful to watch and tragic to comprehend. Burning it all down at the end seems just right.
- 04
- Finished watching Night Agent s02 on Netflix T Phew, that was close. Season Three, here we come.
- March
- 23
- Watched Helvetica on Kanopy F Very interesting, and having seen Herman Zapf, loved the idea of setting a boring article in Zapf Dingbats.
- 18
- Started watching The Leopard on Netflix T Straightforward costume drama, and nothing wrong with that. It isn’t the book, but nothing is.
- 17
- Finished watching Zero Day on Netflix T A happy ending, of course.
- 12
- Watched Corsage on Kanopy F Really interesting costume drama with several twists.
- 05
- Started watching Zero Day on Netflix T Ex-US president is doolally but might save the world.
- 03
- Finished watching On Call on Prime T Not a bad police procedural. USP: bodycams.
- April
- 29
- Finished watching Perfect Couple on Netflix T Strange, adventitious happyish ending sequences. Did the suits insist?
- 21
- Started watching Perfect Couple on Netflix T Not uninteresting. Something odd about Nicole Kidman’s character.
- 20
- Finished The Residence on Netflix T OK, so it messed with the whole genre, but in the end too patchy and about half an hour too long in the final episode.
- 11
- Started watching The Residence on Netflix T Excellent romp.
- 10
- Finished watching The Leopard on Netflix T Proper period piece.
- April
- 29
- Finished watching Perfect Couple on Netflix T Strange, adventitious happyish ending sequences. Did the suits insist?
- 21
- Started watching Perfect Couple on Netflix T Not uninteresting. Something odd about Nicole Kidman’s character.
- 20
- Finished The Residence on Netflix T OK, so it messed with the whole genre, but in the end too patchy and about half an hour too long in the final episode.
- 11
- Started watching The Residence on Netflix T Excellent romp.
- 10
- Finished watching The Leopard on Netflix T Proper period piece.
- May
- 23
- Started watching Missing You on Netflix T Harlan Coban, and British, and excellent.
- 12
- Started watching Covert Affairs on Amazon Prime T Not the greatest, and as ever (in US shows) the lone genius saves the world.
- 10
- Started reading April in Spain by John Banville B As always, very sharp observations and a lot of mystery.
- 09
- Finished watching Just One Look on Netflix T Overall satisfactory, although the final episode had a lot of work to do.
- 06
- Watched Red Sparrow on Netflix F Entertaining enough, although heavy handed and a little too long lingering over the torture scenes.
- 01
- Started watching Just One Look on Netflix T Polish Harlana Cobana; very promising.
- Abandoned The Studio on AppleTV T After two episodes. Too shouty, too predictable, not funny.
- June
- 29
- Started reading Civilisations by Laurent Binet and Sam Taylor B Totally great first section bodes well for the rest.
- 28
- Finished reading Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan B Wonderfully rich, everyone a stereotype, and none the worse for that.
- 08
- Started watching Department Q on Netflix T Dysfunctional copper, clever time twist, strong start.
- 02
- Finished watching Missing You on Netflix T Deeply strange psychopaths and bent coppers; what’s not to like?
- July
- 24
- Finished reading Drive by James Sallis B Noir, new to me, not at all bad.
- 20
- Finished reading Greenmantle by John Buchan B Splendid, escapist, jingoistic tosh.
- 13
- Finished reading The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer B Timely, delusional, unfinished.
- 05
- Finished reading Civilisations by Laurent Binet and Sam Taylor B Very entertaining, with sparky writing, though the final section was not as good as the first three.
- August
- 31
- Books were read and went unrecorded but no shows were watched.
- September
- 20
- Started watching The Diplomat s03 on Netflix T Here we go again.
- 19
- Finished watching House of Guinness on Netflix T Silly us, thinking all would be revealed in the final episode. This was the final episode.
- 27
- Started Watching House of Guinness on Netflix T Let's just recycle everything we built for Peaky Blinders.
- 25
- Started reading A Manual for Cleaning Ladies by Lucia Berlin B Great Expectations
- Started watching Slow Horses on AppleTV T A good re-entry point after the summer recess.
- 22
- Finished reading A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar B Interesting and, dare I say it, often overwrought.
- October
- ???
- Truly, I had not realised that all logging had ceased here, certainly for October and much of November. And yet, we kept watching and reading and the world continued to turn.
- November
- 30
- We started Down the Cemetary Road on Apple TV T and were gripped from the start. Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson? Perfection.
December
- 17
- Started watching The Beast in Me on Netflix T Horrendously chilling, even though one knows it is just a show.
- 16
- Watched Wake Up, Dead Man on Netflix F Entertaining enough, but what a long, contrived and dull denouement.
- 14
- Watched Train Dreams on Netflix F Lovely, quiet film, nothing flashy about it and yet very satisfying.
- 12
- Finished watching Lazarus on Prime T Grade B tosh.
- 10
- Finished watching Down Cemetary Road on AppleTV T So good. Unbelievable, and good, and open for a sequel, I hope.
- 5
- Started watching Lazarus on Prime T Deeply weird, but may all have an explanation.
- 1
- Started watching Plur1bus on Apple TV T and while it is a bit interesting, after episode 2 I don't care whether we carry on.
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